Locally Produced Clothing Retailer Marketing Plan

Critical Numbers

Critical numbers for the business will be tracked through the following systems:

Google Analytics: Will track web visitors and their source (in order to look at referrals from complementary businesses)

Facebook analytics: Will track Facebook page visitors and their sources.

Walk-ins: Will be tracked manually by clerks, including separate categories for those who make no purchases and those who do. These numbers will be entered into a customer log each shift.

Check-out POS system: Will track sales transactions and allow for entry of the numbers from the above systems to have one location with all marketing and sales data. Special fields for referrals, testimonials, and PR mentions will be added to this customizable software, so that these items can be mentioned manually.

12.2 Marketing Expense Budget

Most expenses will remain steady and rise with inflation. The expense which will grow faster is the membership discounts offered. This expense is shown on the books to demonstrate the amount clothing will be marked down. As the membership program grows towards its goal of 500 members, these discounts are expected to rise in tandem with unit sales.

Expenses will focus on college radio, which reaches both college students and locals. Other inexpensive areas include the email newsletter, which is just the cost of Constant Contact for email blasts. We expect some expenses, such as college sponsorships and membership discounts, to decrease or stop entirely during the summer months, when our regular college student customers are out of town.

12.3 Key Marketing Metrics

Leads: Includes all new walk-ins, Web visitors, and Facebook page visitors. We will attempt to estimate and eliminate the overlap between these groups.

Leads Converted: This conversion rate is expected to drop as the website increases its visibility significantly over the first three years. Many Web visitors will not become customers either because of geographic distance or because they are less qualified than before. However, the overall effect on leads will be positive because of lead growth.

Average Transactions Per Customer: Each month, a new customer is expected to make .25 purchases, or 1 every 4 months (3 per year).

The remaining metrics are all expected to rise over the first three years as an effect of increasing sales and the viral effect of marketing efforts.